The present invention relates to a card with an internal IC module.
In recent years, many people have taken advantage of credit cards, ID cards or the like, the names and registration numbers, for example, of which can be discriminated with the use of a computer system. In such a card, generally, a magnetic tape for storing informations is pasted onto a plastic plate. On the other hand, with the remarkable progress in the integrating and packaging techniques of the semi-conductor circuit, a card has been developed in which the IC module having a data processing function is embedded in, for example, a plastic plate, this type of card being now at a stage of being put to practical use.
FIG. 1 shows the outer appearance of a prior art credit card having a data processing function. This credit card has first terminals 10A and 10B for receiving a drive power from a external computer system and second terminals 10C to 10H for signal transmission and reception with the computer system, on a plastic plate 12. A magnetic tape 14 is formed on the plate 12 so as to conform to a conventional computer system as well. The plastic plate 12 has a groove 16 as shown in FIG. 2. In this groove 16, spacers 18 are provided. Each of the terminals 10A to 10H is adhered to a support plate 20 in a manner to extend from an upper surface to a bottom surface thereof. An IC module 22 is formed therein with a data processing circuit and mounted to the bottom surface of the support plate 20. The terminals 10A to 10H are connected, by lead wires, to the corresponding electrodes of the data processing circuit in IC module 22. The support plate 20 is adhered and received in a groove 16 of the plastic plate 12 jointly with the IC module 22. The external computer system supplies a drive power to the IC module 22 through the terminals 10A and 10B at the time of utilizing the credit card and, at the same time, transmits and receives data signals through the terminals 10C to 10H.
However, in this type of credit card having the above-mentioned construction, it is necessary to provide a space to receive the lead wires for connecting the IC module 22 and the electrodes 10, so that it is difficult to form the card to be sufficiently thin. Further, the wire bonding process makes the assembly operation complicated. Furthermore, since, in this card, a drive power and data signals are relayed by a relatively large number of terminals, the reliability of the card in connection with the external computer system is low.